Conor Thomas
Conor Thomas (born 29 October 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for EFL League Two club Crewe Alexandra. He has previously played for Coventry City, Swindon Town, former Indian Super League club ATK and Cheltenham Town. Club careerCoventry CityThomas joined the Coventry City Academy after being spotted playing for local side Christ The King FC. He was approached by scouts from the likes of Aston Villa and Birmingham too, but decided to start his career with the Sky Blues. He made his professional debut as a substitute on 8 January 2011 in a 2–1 FA Cup win over Crystal Palace, coming on to replace Gary McSheffrey after 72 minutes[3] and made his full debut for the club on 25 January, again during an FA Cup tie, against Birmingham City. He joined Premier League club Liverpool initially on loan on 31 January 2011, with a view to a permanent move[4] but after playing and training with Liverpool's reserves and training with the first team on seven occasions he returned to Coventry after a hamstring injury and the mutual decision to end the loan.[5] Thomas scored his first senior goal on 31 January 2012 in a 2–1 defeat away to Blackpool, opening the scoring in the 59th minute.[6] After a six-year spell at Coventry, Thomas was released by the club in June 2016.[7] Swindon TownOn 4 July 2016, preceding his release from Coventry, Thomas joined fellow League One side Swindon Town on a three-year deal.[8] On 6 August 2016, Thomas made his Swindon Town debut in a 1–0 victory against his former side; Coventry City, featuring for the entire 90 minutes.[9] On 25 March 2017, Thomas scored his first goal for Swindon, netting the winner in their 1–0 victory over Millwall in the 90th minute.[10] ATKOn 23 August 2017, Thomas joined Indian Super League side ATK.[11] Cheltenham TownOn 25 May 2018, Thomas returned to England to join League Two side Cheltenham Town on a two-year deal.[12] He helped Cheltenham to the 2019–20 League Two play-off semi-finals, only to lose 3–2 on aggregate against Northampton Town.[13] After four seasons, on 6 May 2022, Thomas left the club after not being able to reach an agreement with the club on new terms.[14] Crewe AlexandraOn 19 May 2022, he joined Crewe Alexandra.[15] He started in Crewe's opening game of the 2022–23 season, a 2–1 victory over Rochdale at Spotland.[16] and he scored his first Crewe goal in the side's 2–1 win over former club Swindon Town at Gresty Road on 29 April 2023.[17] In May 2024, Thomas signed a new two-year deal, keeping him at Crewe until the summer of 2026.[18] In late October, Thomas sustained a freak knee injury as a result of a teammate taking an ill-timed shot in training, ruling him out of action until early 2025.[19] International careerThomas was an England under-17 international. He played in the final of the 2009 Nordic Tournament and was awarded a winner's medal following the side's victory over Scotland.[20] Coaching careerIn March 2023, Thomas launched the Conor Thomas Academy, offering one-on-one and small group football coaching sessions to young players in the Crewe, Sandbach, and Stoke areas. The academy aims to bridge the gap between amateur and academy-level football.[21] Media involvementConor Thomas has recently undertaken football commentary work with BBC Radio Stoke. He participated in studio discussions with presenter Samantha Fletcher-Goodwin and contributed to live match commentary at Crewe Alexandra FC home games alongside Graham McGarry and Peter Morse. Career statistics
HonoursCheltenham Town References
External links
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